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SCP-2616 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-2616
Expected annual
$250K
One-time setup
$67K
Annual recurring
$245K
Personnel
4
Initial one-time setup is modest (~$67k) for custom terrarium, environmental control, cameras and lab equipment; annual recurring costs are dominated by staff wages, sequencing/pathology and overhead (~$245k/yr). Major incidents or scale-up studies can add tens to hundreds of thousands in a given year.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $67K
Equipment $29K
[#2, #3, #4, #9, #12, #13, #14, #21] Environmental control units and BMS integration (#2), high-resolution cameras/mounts/lighting (#3), environmental/behavioral sensors and data loggers (#4), initial PPE/tools (#9), cryogenic/freezer equipment (#12), basic microbiology setup/incubator (#13), secure servers/initial IT (#14), and share of lab instruments/stereo microscope/PCR/centrifuge allocation (#21).
Facilities $18K
[#1, #24, #25] Includes custom terrarium and secondary containment fabrication and secure box (#1), one-time decontamination/disposal contingencies (#24), and a conservative contingency allowance for potential containment expansion (#25).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $10K
[#11, #15] Initial research startup: assay/reagent kits and initial sequencing/sample-prep startup (#11), plus SOP/documentation development and initial training materials (#15).
Incident Reserve $10K
[#17] One-time emergency/contingency reserve to fund initial rapid-response containment expansion or major incident costs; baseline reserved amount.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $245K/yr
Staff Wages $188K/yr
[#5, #6, #7, #20] Full-time entomology technician/primary caretaker salary and benefits (#5), pro-rated research scientist (0.5–1.0 FTE) costs (#6), marginal security allocation for extra log checks/escorts (#7), and archivist/administrative staff time for generational curation (#20).
Research And Monitoring $14K/yr
[#3, #4, #10, #11, #12, #14, #15] Camera/video storage & replacement (#3 recurring), sensor calibration/replacement (#4 recurring), necropsy/pathology costs averaged per-year (#10), periodic outsourced sequencing/genomics budgets (#11 recurring), freezer/biobank monitoring/storage costs (#12 recurring), secure data storage/analysis operating costs (#14 recurring), and annual training/compliance refreshers (#15 recurring).
Specialized Experiments $10K/yr
[#23] Budgeted annual average for episodic specialized behavioral/memory-transfer studies, consultants, and per-study expenses (annualized reserve).
Cover Story And Legal $8K/yr
[#18] Annual earmarked budget for low-level legal/cover-story/PR contingencies and small incident support.
Facilities Maintenance $6K/yr
[#2, #21, #22] Energy & maintenance for environmental control/Peltier/HVAC integration (#2 recurring), maintenance share for dedicated lab instruments (#21 recurring), and pro-rated site utilities/overhead (#22).
Ethics Oversight $6K/yr
[#16] Recurring Ethics Committee/review board costs, meetings, documentation, and occasional external consultations.
Incident Fund $5K/yr
[#17] Ongoing replenishment allowance for the incident/contingency fund to respond to small-to-moderate emergencies.
Containment Expansion Operating $5K/yr
[#25] Ongoing operating costs if containment is scaled (pro-rated staffing, utilities); baseline reserve for small scaling operations.
Supplies And Consumables $2K/yr
[#8, #9, #13] Hummingbird feed and prey/substrate consumables (#8), PPE/tool replacement (#9 recurring), and microbiology consumables/disinfectants (#13 recurring).
Logistics And Transport $1K/yr
[#19] Secure shipping and inter-site transport averaged per-year (specialized containment boxes, couriers, compliance).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $245K/yr
84.0% probability / year
Normal, uneventful year with routine husbandry, scheduled sequencing/pathology, and regular maintenance.
routine_husbandry scheduled_sequencing standard_maintenance
🚨 Minor Incident $260K/yr
10.0% probability / year +$15K vs baseline
Small containment incident or mass-hatching event requiring overtime, emergency necropsies and short-term containment upgrades.
small_escape mass_hatching unusual_behavior
🚨 Major Breach $365K/yr
1.0% probability / year +$120K vs baseline
Significant containment failure or public exposure requiring large-scale emergency response, legal/PR action, and rapid containment expansion.
major_escape public_discovery widespread_anomalous_behavior
🚨 Research Scaleup $295K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$50K vs baseline
Planned or opportunistic ramp-up of a large intergenerational study requiring added staff, equipment time, and external consultants.
major_study external_grant_project expanded_sampling
👥 Personnel 4 total
Role Count Notes
Primary caretaker / Entomology Technician 1 [#5] 1 FTE responsible for daily husbandry, feeding, inspections, sample prep.
Research Scientist 1 [#6] 0.5–1.0 FTE research time; represented as one headcount (part-time to full-time depending on program intensity).
Security Officer / MTF Agent 1 [#7] Marginal dedicated allocation for restricted-access escorts and additional log checks; usually provided by Site-18 security.
Administrative Staff / Archivist 1 [#20] Archivist/administrative support for generational curation, SOP maintenance, and documentation.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges; however many items are variable (necropsy frequency, sequencing cadence, incident likelihood), so mid-range estimates were used. Contingency and per-study costs remain highly scenario-dependent, limiting confidence.
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